In the 83 SRE districts all the expenses incurred on security in these districts are reimbursed by the MHA. These districts were identified after a survey where Maoist violence incidents are more than 20 percent of all the incidents in that district.

As per a recent news item in Pioneer, four more districts from Odisha have been included in this list. They are: Nuapada, Bargarh, Bolangir and Kalahandi.

Besides the LWE SRE scheme, there is an Integrated Action Plan for Backward and Tribal districts. Originally there were sixty such districts out of which:

(c) As per a recent news item in Pioneer, three more districts from Odisha have been included in this list. They are: Ganjam, Nayagarh and Jajpur.

In total there are 14 districts from Odisha that are covered under the IAP. They are: Balangir, Deogarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sonepur.

In total, 20 of Odisha’s 30 districts are now covered under these schemes. Following is the list.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved commencement of an Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and Backward Districts to cover identified 60 districts as an Additional Central Assistance (ACA) scheme on 100% grant basis. This is in pursuance of the Finance Minister’s announcement in his Budget Speech of 2010-11 and the Prime Minister’s address to the National Development Council on 24th July, 2010.

The scheme will, to begin with, be implemented over two years i.e. 2010-11 to 2011-12 with the following Components:

(i) In the current year (2010-11), a block-grant of ` 25 crore will be made available to each of the 60 selected districts for which the schemes will be decided by a Committee headed by the District Collector with District SP and District Forest Officer as members. During the year 2011-12, the block grant will be raised to ` 30 crore per district. The scheme will be reviewed for implementation in the 12th Plan at a later stage.

(ii) The existing KBK plan under BRGF will continue as before with annual allocation of ` 130 crore for all eight districts put together. The eight KBK districts have also been included under the IAP and will get additional block grant of ` 25 crore per district in the current year and suitable additional amount under both State and District Components of IAP in the subsequent years.

(iii) The scheme will focus on improvements in governance and specific preconditions will need to be complied with by the States before availing of the second tranche of the proposed additional financial assistance in 2011-12 under the State Component of the IAP. However, these conditionalities will not apply to the District Components of IAP.

(iv) The scheme will focus on effective implementation of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest Rights Act).

(v) A mechanism for procurement and marketing of MFPs, including issues of manpower requirement, capacity building and development of value chain specific to MFPs would be worked out by the Planning Commission, in consultation with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The administrative mechanism for enforcement of the minimum support price for MFP in accordance with the mechanism so work out will be the responsibility of the State Government concerned.

(vi) The District Component will be administered by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the State Component by the Planning Commission.

The Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme(BRGF) was approved in the financial year 2006-07.The Programme has three components, namely, Special Plan for Bihar, Special Plan for the KBK districts of Orissa and the district component covered by the Backward Districts Initiative of the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana(RSVY) subsumed into the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme from 2006-07. Special plans for Bihar and the KBK districts of Orissa are handled by the Planning Commission. The allocation under the district component of BRGF consists of two funding windows (a) funds for capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions and (b) an untied developmental grant.According to the extant policy, the districts covered under the Rashtriya Vikas Yojana must complete their allocation of Rs. 45 crore per district under the earlier programme before these shift to the BRGF mode of funding. A statement showing the funds released under these three components, State wise from 2005-06 onwards is annexed.

Release of Funds under BRGF Programme

A.Special Plans for Bihar and KBK districts of Orissa.

(Rs. in crore)

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

I. Special Plan for Bihar

536.03

999.99

762.41

II. Special Plan for the KBK district of Orissa

250.00

250.00

43.33

B.Backward Districts Initiative- Release of Funds to RSVY districts

Sl. No.

State

Amount released in 2005-06 (Rs. in crore)

Amountreleased in 2006-07 (Rs. in crore)

Amountreleased in 2007-08 (Rs. in crore)

1

Andhra Pradesh

37.50

82.5

45.00

2

Arunachal Pradesh

7.50

7.5

0.00

3

Assam

7.50

52.5

15.00

4

Bihar

135.00

232.5

30.00

5

Chhatisgarh

90.00

127.5

22.50

6

Gujarat

15.00

37.50

7.50

7

Haryana

15.00

22.5

0.00

8

Himachal Pradesh

15.00

30

15.00

9

Jammu & Kashmir

22.50

22.5

0.00

10

Jharkhand

142.50

315.00

22.50

11

Karnataka

15.00

37.50

0.00

12

Kerala

15.00

15.00

0.00

13

Madhya Pradesh

150.00

135.00

0.00

14

Maharashtra

60.00

90.00

7.50

15

Manipur

15.00

15.00

0.00

16

Meghalaya

0.00

15.00

0.00

17

Mizoram

7.50

15.00

7.50

18

Nagaland

7.50

22.50

0.00

19

Orissa

45.00

45.00

22.50

20

Punjab

7.50

15.00

0.00

21

Rajasthan

37.50

15.00

0.00

22

Sikkim

7.50

22.5

7.50

23

Tamil Nadu

75.00

30.00

0.00

24

Tripura

7.50

15.00

0.00

25

Uttar Pradesh

202.50

300.00

75.00

26

Uttarakhand

22.50

37.50

7.50

27

West Bengal

45.00

60.00

22.50

28

NABARD

3.24

3.30

0.00

TOTAL

1210.74

1818.30

307.50

…This information was given by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs & Sports and DoNER in the Lok Sabha today in a written reply to a question by Shri Arjun Sethi.

Anubhuti Bishnoi in Indian Express reports on the progress towards making a 2-lane Ranchi-Vijaywada highway zig-zagging through 1219 kms of Orissa and passing though most of its tribal districts, many of which are naxalite infested. The article has a nice map showing which towns the road will pass through in Orissa. Following are some excerpts from that article. (Thanks to Manoj Sahu in Africa for mentioning this article in Agami Orissa.)

At a recent meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways was asked to expedite finalisation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Vijayawada-Ranchi corridor cutting through Orissa, and take it up on a priority basis. … Around 1,219 km of the 1,729-km corridor planned between Vijayawada and Ranchi will fall in Orissa, and the state government had requested that its state highways, district and rural roads be incorporated in the corridor. Now 235.8 km of national highway sections, 878 km of state high ways and 104.5 km of rural roads will be a part of the corridor. The road from Vijayawada enters Orissa at Motu in Malkangiri district and leaves at Tiring in Mayurbhanj district on the north. … While the Ministry may not call the stretch NH as yet, with the Prime Minister taking a keen interest, it is set to be developed as per national highway standards. What that means is that tribal areas of Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Anugul, Sambalpur, Deograh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Boudh, currently insurgency hotbeds, may emerge out of the hinterlands. Confirming that the project had been put on the fast track, a senior Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways official said: “The DPR of the corridor is underway and should be ready in six-seven months.”

The completion of the (a) Kurdha Rd – Balangir new line, (b) Lanjigarh Rd – Junagarh new line, (c) broad gauge conversion of Naupada Rd and Gunupur and (d) the completion of the Gunupur-Theruvali line will have the following benefits. [Among these, with the current funding level (b) and (c) will be completed in a couple of years. What is needed is a big push to complete (a) and (d) in the next 3-4 years.]

Parlakhemundi, the district headquarter of Gajapati will be on Broad gauge rail and will be 305 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital). [c]

Sonepur, the district HQ of Sonepur district will be on Broad gauge rail and will be 259 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital). [a]

Boudh, the district HQ of Boudha district will be on Broad gauge and will be 217 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital).[a]

Nayagarha, the district HQ of Nayagarha district will be on Broad gauge and will be 84 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital). [a]

Bhawanipatna, the district HQ of Kalahandi district will be on Broad gauge and will be 450 kms from Bhubaneswar via Balangir [a,b] and 504 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital) via Gunupur. [b,c,d]

Balangir, the district HQ of Balangir district will now be 309 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 397 kms. [a]

Nawapara Rd, near the district HQ of Nawapara district will now be 459 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 547 kms. [a]

Rayagada, the district HQ of Rayagada district will now be 419 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 502 kms. [c,d]

Koraput, the district HQ of Koraput district will now be 573 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 676 kms. [c,d]

Titlagarh, a major junction will now be 373 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 461 kms. [a]

Thus these four lines will connect 5 new district HQs to the broad gauge railways and will significantly reduce the distance between 4 other district HQs and the state capital. That is 8 district HQs would be within half-a-day intercity distance away from the state capital and the 9th one (Koraput) will be within a overnight ride from the state capital. Thus intercity trains between (i) Bhuabneswar and Nawapara Rd (ii) Bhubaneswar and Bhawanipatna and (iii) Bhubaneswar and Rayagada will completely change the psychology of people in districts such as Kalahandi, Rayagada and Nawapara and feel them more connected with the rest of the state. (Currently 2893 leaves Bhubaneswar at 5:45 AM and reaches Balangir at 1:20 PM. Within the same time, with the shortened route it can easily go up to Titlagarh junction and with a little speed up this train will be able to go up to Bhawanipatna or Nawapara Rd.) Similarly a shorter overnight train between Jeypore and Bhubaneswar will make people in Koraput district feel much closer to the rest of the state. (Currently 8448 leaves Koraput at 6:25 PM and reaches Bhubaneswar at 8:30 AM next morning. With a shorter route a train can leave Koraput at 8:30 PM and make it to Bhubaneswar by 8:30 AM next morning.)

Two further extensions of Junagarh-Nawarangpur and Jeypore-Malkangiri will bring two other KBK district HQs to be connected to the broad gauge railways.

Parlakhemundi-Naupada Rd is 40 kms and Naupada Rd to Bhubaneswar is 265 kms.

Sonepur to Khurda Rd is 240 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms.

Boudha to Khurda Rd is 198 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms.

Nayagarh to Khurda Rd is 65 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms.

Bhawanipatna to Lanjiharh Rd is 30 kms, Lanjigarh Rd to Titlagarh is 47 kms, Titlagarh to Balangir is 64 kms, Balangir to Khurda Rd is 290 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms. Lanjigarh Rd to Theruvali is 74 kms, Theruvali to Gunupur is estimated to be 45 kms, Gunupur to Naupada rd is 90 kms, and Naupada Rd to Bhubaneswar is 265 kms.

Balangir to Khurda Rd is 290 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms. Balangir to Sambalpur is 118 kms, Sambalpur to Talcher Rd is 169 kms, Talcher Thermal to Barang is 94 kms and Barang to Bhubaneswar is 16 kms.

Nawapara Rd to Titlagarh is 86 kms and Titlagarh to Balangir is 64 kms.

Rayagada to Theruvali is 19 kms, Theruvali to Naupada Rd is estimated to be 135 kms and Naupada Rd to Bhubaneswar is 265 kms. Rayagad to Vijainagaram is 124 kms and Vijainagaram to Bhubaneswar is 378 kms.